photo album
by sorix13
Summary: while wandering around the house in the wee hours of the morning, Ryoma finds something he'd never seen in the house before: a bookcase.


He laid there, restless, for a great many minutes. He was trying to decide between attempting to fall back asleep or actually check what time it was. He was hoping for at least six, but he knew all too well that it was far earlier than that.

Really, how was he supposed to go to work later and then head to his classes? It was impossible.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. He rolled over onto his stomach and looked at the clock resting upon the headboard. He sighed, quietly though, upon seeing that it was only three twenty four. He buried his face in the pillow, cursing his insomnia all the while.

His anger subsiding, he felt an arm across his back, and smiled softly. He looked to his right, at the face of his blissfully, sleeping lover.

'At least you can sleep, Kunimitsu.' he thought, a little cynically. He didn't mean to sound so mean, but he couldn't help it. Ryoma hadn't been able to sleep well for a year now.

He moved as stealthily as he could, trying not to wake Tezuka. If one of them could sleep, that was all they needed.

When he separated himself from Tezuka, he stood by the bed for a moment, making sure that Tezuka wouldn't wake up in the next few moments. He'd let Tezuka sleep until he naturally woke up, which was usually early anyway.

Ryoma smiled, closing the door slowly behind him. He walked downstairs to the living room and sat on a couch, glaring at the ceiling. He'd been to numerous doctors, but none of them could solve his problems. There was nothing he could do about his insomnia.

He sighed, knowing that glaring holes into the second floor were not going to help at all. He turned his head, and he got that curious look on his face again.

He had noticed something he'd never noticed in this house before: a bookcase.

He had never really looked around once Tezuka had moved in. Ryoma's parents had left for America six years ago, a year after his graduation from high school, taking most of their belongings with them. They knew of Ryoma's relationship with Tezuka, and they were alright with it. So they knew that once they left, in doing so relinquishing their hold on the house to Ryoma, Tezuka would soon move in. Luckily, though, they left a lot of the furnishings so the two lovers didn't need to go out and buy their own. Although, they did want to make the house their own at some point in time, they simply didn't have the money to do so now.

Ryoma stalked over to the bookcase and looked at a few things shelved there. It definitely hadn't been there before Tezuka moved in. He grabbed a random book off one of the shelves and opened it to the first page.

The book didn't have a title, so naturally he was curious about it. But he hadn't expected it to be a photo album. There was only one picture on the first page. There was a woman sitting on a bed, holding a child in her arms, and a man standing next to the bed. Both adults in the picture had brilliant smiles on their faces. It didn't take Ryoma long to figure out that the child was their newborn baby. Judging by the white surroundings and the woman's clothing, he guessed that the child had just been born, maybe only a few hours before the picture was taken.

There were plenty of pictures over the next few pages, all filled to the edges with pictures of the child. For these eleven pages, the child in the pictures hadn't aged much. Maybe a year or so but nothing to drastic. Whoever made this album had wanted to keep everything in order.

When Ryoma turned to the seventeenth page, he finally realized who the album was for.

A picture in the bottom right corner stood out to him. It had a child with brown hair and glasses smiling at a school playground.

Ryoma never would have guess that Tezuka would look so cute in pre-school. He continued to flip through the pages, carefully examining each photo he saw. Tezuka had been smiling happily in every single one of them.

He turned the page, wondering what had happened to the older boy. When they first met in junior high, the captain had been extremely stoic and serious. Ryoma looked back down to the album, examined each photo on the page, and then turned it.

The photos on this page were mostly black and gave off a morbid feeling. Ryoma was a bit taken back by the photos since he really hadn't expected photos of a funeral in such a book. He didn't think anyone would want photos of a funeral at all.

Most of the pictures were still of Tezuka, but he wasn't smiling. He wasn't showing much emotion on his face at all, for that matter. Ryoma could only imagine it was a close relative, a cousin or something, that died. But Tezuka had never talked about this.

Ryoma started to flip through more pages, examining the pictures very closely from that point on. Whoever that funeral had been for extremely affected Tezuka. In the rest of the photos, ones from junior and senior high, Tezuka had that poker face, the one where hardly anyone outside of their close circle of friends could tell what he was thinking.

There was one photo, though, in which Tezuka had been smiling. It was Tezuka's senior year of high school. Ryoma had noticed that he had been in a few of the photos. Maybe just the background or off to the side. But this was the only photo in which he and Tezuka were looking at each other, smiling. He couldn't even remember where that photo had been taken.

He turned the page again, but he found there were no more pictures. Instead, there was a message for Tezuka...from his grandparents.

That explained a lot. He didn't think Tezuka would be the type of person to compile a whole photo album, especially one as elaborate as this one. It made since that his grandparents had made it. But the thought of that made Ryoma a little sad.

The couple was extremely nice. They were fond of Ryoma and Ryoma was fond of them. But seven years ago, with Tezuka only two years out of high school, there was an accident, and both lost their lives. The news hit Tezuka hard, as well as Ryoma. The elderly couple had never found out about Tezuka's relationship with Ryoma. It wasn't that Tezuka didn't want to tell them; it was simply the fact that he had never found the right time.

Ryoma flipped back dozens of pages to the funeral. The funeral pictures spanned out across four pages, which Ryoma thought was a bit much for funeral pictures. But it wasn't his album to critique.

He leaned his head against the bookcase and closed his eyes. He really wanted to know whose funeral this was. It was obvious, due to the pictures, that Tezuka changed because of it. Who could have had such a huge impact on the older man's life?

He suddenly felt very lethargic, thinking of everything.

---[---

He opened his eyes, like he did every morning. He glanced up at the clock, although he didn't have to, since he woke at seven every morning. He moved his left arm absently, searching for something, and sighed when he felt nothing but the sheets.

He sat up then, looking at the empty space beside him. By now, the fact that Ryoma wasn't there when he woke up shouldn't surprise him. Yet every time it happened, which was daily now, it surprised him.

Tezuka leaned back and set the clock's alarm for nine. After doing so, he stood up and walked out of the room. The first place he checked was the study, since Ryoma frequented that place. Tezuka wasn't sure why, but during one of his 'insomnia attacks', the younger man would get the urge to read something, even if it bored him greatly.

Finding that Ryoma wasn't there, he walked downstairs into the living room. He sighed, but smiled, at seeing his lover leaning against a bookshelf, fast asleep. He walked over to him, but paused when he saw what book was laid out in front of him.

Why was Ryoma looking through that photo album?

He didn't really need to ask the question. He knew the answer. The younger probably saw it and was curious about it.

He kneeled down to take a closer look at the photos on the page. He frowned, realizing when they were taken. Why would Ryoma be looking at those pictures?

Tezuka jumped when he heard a quiet meow. He looked towards his right and found Karupin to be glaring at him. Well, the cat usually glared at him. It seemed he didn't like to share his owner. For a moment, Tezuka forgot about the cat and Ryoma and focused on the photo album.

He shook his head. It didn't matter. He closed the album and put it back on the shelf. Leave it to Ryoma to never realize a bookshelf is in his own house. He placed a hand on Ryoma's shoulder, finding the younger to be shivering slightly. He always was prone to the cold.

Karupin meowed again, louder this time.

"Alright." he smiled at the cat. "I won't stall any longer. I'll take him now." The cat seemed content with this answer and slowly turned away from the two lovers. Tezuka followed the cat with his eyes as the animal went upstairs, probably to their bed.

Gently, he picked up the younger man and started for their bedroom.

"Kunimitsu?"

Tezuka looked down. Ryoma looked extremely tired. The insomnia was really taking its toll on his body. He was surprised that Ryoma could still function during the times he was awake.

"Why are you awake?"

Obviously, Ryoma didn't know that it was just after seven. Otherwise, the boy wouldn't have asked the question.

"Go to sleep, Ryoma." he said instead. If he told Ryoma that it was seven, he'd want to stay up. But as it was, the younger needed sleep, and Tezuka wasn't about to compromise that.

By the time Tezuka got to their bedroom, Ryoma was fast asleep again. He stalked over to the bed and gently laid Ryoma on it, making sure it was the side Tezuka had been sleeping on beforehand. That side was still warm, so Ryoma shouldn't have much of a problem warming up.

Tezuka pulled the blanket so it completely covered Ryoma, and immediately the younger curled into a ball in the warmth. Karupin chose to jump up onto the bed and curl up next to Ryoma.

Tezuka gently sat on the bed and began to run a hand through Ryoma's hair. After a few moments, he leaned down to kiss Ryoma's forehead, and then stalked off to get ready for work.

---[---

The alarm clock was loud. Leave it to Tezuka to set it to the loudest setting possible. Leave it to Tezuka to buy the loudest alarm clock available.

Ryoma rolled over onto his stomach and started to half-hazardly reach for the annoying clock. After a few moments, he succeeded in turning it off. He laid his face into the pillow. Slowly, he turned to his right, but found himself to be looking at a wall.

He immediately sat up and looked to the empty space on the bed. That was his sleeping space. He wasn't supposed to wake up where Tezuka was supposed to be.

He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged his legs. He sighed. He wasn't seeing Tezuka in the mornings before he left anymore. A year ago, he was able to at least wake up, say good morning, wait for the older to leave, and then go back to sleep. But thanks to his insomnia, he wasn't able to do that anymore.

Suddenly, Karupin jumped up onto the bed and into Ryoma's lap. Ryoma started to pet the cat, smiling sadly as he thought about Tezuka. 'I must be making him worry again.'

"Kunimitsu..." he whispered, feeling completely dejected.

---[---

Ryoma frowned, going into class. It was a psychology class that he recently signed up for. He thought that maybe he could find out why he suddenly contracted insomnia. But so far, nothing stood out to him.

He didn't mind that the class wasn't doing for him what he wanted it to. He was enjoying the class. It was interesting, learning about the human mind and such. It wasn't a complete waste of time.

He had asked the instructor if she had known anything that could help him, but the woman only smiled and told him to pay attention in class as best he could.

But that was a very hard task when he suddenly gets urges to fall asleep. He had felt depressed all day, since he woke up at nine and went to work. Work itself had been slow. He had a part time job at a coffee house, since Tezuka didn't want him working too much due to the insomnia.

Ryoma frowned at the thought. The insomnia was running his life now. He didn't want it to. He really needed to figure out what was causing it.

"The human mind can work wonders." the instructor spoke up, the words catching Ryoma's attention for some reason. "We can ask ourselves a question, or think something, and then forget about it forever. But the mind, it continues to think about it for a long time. Sometimes, this subconscious thinking can affect the body. Lack of sleep, mood swings, things like that. Small subtle changes in one's personality."

Ryoma sighed. That wasn't going to help much. He looked down at his watch, realizing it was almost time to leave. Students were already exiting the room. He sighed.

"Echizen kun." the instructor called out. He grabbed his bag and walked down to her desk. The rest of the students had already left. How much had be been spacing out?

"Tell me," she began. "is the class doing what you expected of it? Half the semester has already gone by."

Ryoma sighed. "Not really." he replied. "But it's not like I'm not enjoying the class." he added quickly, hoping she wouldn't think he hated it.

She smiled at him again. "Keep trying, Echizen kun." she said. "I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for eventually."

---[---

Ryoma was extremely tired walking home. The school wasn't too far from the house, just a half hour's walk. But it was a long half hour today.

He was constantly yawning as he walked. He felt extremely sluggish too. He thought he wouldn't make it home before nine. It was already dark out, but he was usually home long before nine, even though his class lets out at eight.

He looked at his watch as he approached the front gate. It was eight fifty three. He sighed. Tezuka would probably be worried about him.

He quietly opened the front door and closed it behind him. It let out a loud click, but Tezuka hadn't heard it. And if he had, he made no effort to show he knew Ryoma had returned. Ryoma found that odd.

He quickly took off his shoes and dropped his book bag on the floor. He walked into the house, choosing the living room first. And he found Tezuka sitting on the couch, looking through the photo album he found in the morning.

Tezuka looked at him, confused for a moment. "I didn't hear you come in." he admitted quietly. It seemed he didn't want to be caught looking through it.

Ryoma nodded. He moved over and sat next to his lover. He was still tired, but there was a question he wanted to ask. He rest his head on Tezuka's shoulder, sighing slightly.

"Are you tired?" Tezuka asked, moving the photo album to the side so Ryoma wouldn't notice.

"Ne, Kunimitsu?" Ryoma whispered, trying to keep awake. "Whose funeral was that?"

Ryoma felt Tezuka tense. He sat up and stared at Tezuka. There was an expression on his face that Ryoma had never seen before. He wasn't quite sure what to say after that, or if asking that question was the right thing to do. Well, the latter didn't matter anymore; the question was cast and there was no reeling it in without getting some type of answer or reaction from Tezuka.

So far, Ryoma had only gotten a reaction from Tezuka. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from Tezuka. He knew that the older wouldn't have just flat out told him but he hadn't expected utter silence from him.

"Kunimitsu?" Ryoma tried again, a little afraid Tezuka wasn't going to reply at all.

Tezuka let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. "Fuji and I, we first met at a cemetery." he stated, rather bluntly. He took the photo album and pulled it onto his lap, still open on the page with the funeral pictures. He pointed to a random one. "It was shortly after this funeral. A week, at least."

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. While this was extremely interesting, he didn't see where his lover was going with the story. Was he going to beat around the bush and think that Ryoma would forget the original question? No, he was certain Kunimitsu knew he was smarter than that. What did Fuji have to do with anything?

"His mother and my parents," Tezuka continued slowly. "happened to be buried near each other."

Ryoma went completely still. Had he heard right? It was his parent's funeral? He didn't know what to say. He hadn't expected that. Tezuka had never really talked about his parents. At most, he thought that his lover and his parents were on bad terms. Well, now he knew that wasn't the case.

"I guess that explains it." he whispered. When he caught Tezuka's half curious half hurt expression, he continued, a little louder. "I mean, why you never really talked about your parents. I was curious about it." he explained. "But I never really asked you. The way I saw it, if you wanted to tell me about them, you would."

Tezuka looked down at the photo album again. Ryoma stretched out and laid his head back against the couch. Tezuka didn't remove his eyes from the pictures. It was depressing, but he was waiting for it. He knew that Ryoma was thinking about it, but he was waiting for the younger to actually voice the question.

After a few moments of silence, and his eyes still glued to the pictures, he sighed. "You aren't going to ask how they died?"

Ryoma was quiet for a moment, contemplating the situation. Sure, he did want to know, but he knew that Tezuka was in no condition to tell him. If it hurt him, why should he rub more salt in the wound?

"No." Ryoma said, smiling. He leaned into Tezuka again, his head on the older's shoulder. Tezuka jumped slightly, surprised by the answer. He thought Ryoma would pry into it more. "You obviously don't want to talk about it." he continued, placing his hand on the edge of the photo album and closing it. "When you want to tell me, I'll listen. But you don't have to do it now. We've got forever."

Tezuka dropped the photo album on the floor. He repositioned himself and Ryoma so that they were laying on the couch, with Tezuka hugging the younger.

Surprisingly, Ryoma felt quite at ease now. He hadn't realized how he had felt until the feeling was gone, washed away with this sense of easiness. He snuggled as close as he could get to Tezuka and closed his eyes, gaining more sleep in one night than he had for an entire year.

---[---

Ryoma sighed as he woke up and found Tezuka still there next to him. He slowly looked up at the clock, and his eyes widened with shock.

It was eight fifty two!

He looked back at Tezuka and then at the large window in their bedroom. Even though the heavy curtains were closed, he could clearly tell it was sunny outside.

He had slept through the night, for a change...

...and Tezuka had slept in?

Ryoma looked back at Tezuka. Sure enough, the older man was fast asleep, content, apparently, with oversleeping.

Tezuka hardly ever overslept. He was always up at seven. So the fact that it was now eight fifty three and Ryoma was awake before him was deeply surprising.

Ryoma shoved the thoughts away and smiled. It was fine, that Tezuka was oversleeping. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and took in a deep breath.

He felt more awake this early in the morning than he could ever remember. He stood up, and with one final look at an oversleeping Tezuka, walked out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen.

---[---

Fuji smiled and sat back in his chair. The bar was overcrowded at this time of night, but he supposed he preferred it this way. It made him feel much safer, although he wasn't sure he knew that he felt unsafe to begin with.

Across from Fuji sat a drunken Ryoma. Fuji, Momoshiro, Kikumaru, and Inui had gotten into the habit of getting Ryoma drunk and learning of fun things about the younger's relationship with Tezuka. Ryoma would tell them just about anything while drunk. The first time they got Ryoma drunk they had learned about what cats in the rain could do to people. The first time had also been accomplished illegally. Now, Fuji was twenty nine and Ryoma twenty seven, so they could both drink as much as they wanted. Although, Ryoma was doing much of the drinking before Fuji had wisely stopped him.

This time, though, it was simply for Fuji's personal gain.

"That was the only time he spoke to you of it?" Fuji asked, a little surprised.

There was no tape recorder this time. Every time they had a tape recorder. But Fuji was certain that he wouldn't want to listen to this conversation again.

Ryoma nodded, his head bobbing in a strange way. "He still hasn't told me much." he explained, with a slur here and a hiccup there. "I don't know how they died, or why." he slurred. "And I don't really care if he tells me or not. I'm just glad we can both sleep through the night."

Fuji smiled. That was right; at one point, Ryoma had been an insomniac. The four of them, he, Momo, Eiji, and Inui, had stopped getting Ryoma drunk, for fear that they were causing the lack of sleep. But, according to a drunk Ryoma, it was all a psychological thing.

"Fuji."

Fuji jumped slightly and turned around with a smile plastered on his face. He glanced down at his watch, his smile widening slightly. Tezuka was right on time.

"Again with this?" Tezuka sighed, eyeing Ryoma, who averted his eyes. "Where are the others?"

"Not here." Fuji smiled. "I had a personal question to ask."

"Must you get him this drunk?" Tezuka asked, concerned with Ryoma's flushed face and jittering movements. He was afraid that one day, Ryoma's body wouldn't be able to handle the excessive amount of liquor and alcohol in his system.

"He won't talk otherwise, Tezuka." Fuji smiled standing up. "Although, I'll leave him to you now." Fuji watched as Tezuka went and helped Ryoma up. It was the same every time they got the younger man drunk. They walked through the crowded bar and out into the empty parking lot.

"You're safe to drive?" Tezuka asked, knowing that Fuji had a few drinks himself.

Fuji nodded. "I'll be fine. I only had one drink. I just needed to get Echizen started."

"You expected me to come?"

Fuji smiled as he looked at Tezuka, while Ryoma leaned against his lover. "Yes." he stated rather bluntly. "How else would Echizen get home safely?"

Tezuka was quiet. "What did you ask him?" Usually, they would tell him, just to embarrass him, but this time the objective seemed to not be blackmail.

Fuji smiled more, if it were possible. "Ask him," he started, pointing at Ryoma. "while he's still drunk. Like I told you the first time, he's an open book when he's had too much to drink."

With that said, Fuji stalked off towards his car, which was in the opposite direction of where Tezuka had parked. He considered it lucky, since he wanted to do much thinking in his own car, away from the outside world.

---[---

"You didn't ask him?" Fuji was shocked to say the least.

"I'd rather hear this from you." Tezuka said, surprised that he would agree to meet Fuji of all people at a bar. He's managed to get Ryoma drunk on a number of occasions, what's to stop the tensai from getting Tezuka drunk?

Fuji smiled. He supposed he'd have to tell him now. "Your parents."

Tezuka's eyes widened slightly, then went back to normal. "What about them?" he asked in a quiet voice.

"I asked him if you had ever told him about them."

"Why is that so personal?" Tezuka asked, looking away.

Fuji smiled more. "Simple," he started. "I had a feeling you would start to explain it the way he did. Also, he asked me a few years ago about them. He was wondering why you never talked about them. It was probably right before his sleeping problems occurred."

Tezuka was quiet. That still didn't explain why it was so personal. But he supposed it didn't matter much. He sighed, thinking that he must have put Ryoma through a mental hell while he selfishly hid his past from him.

"Really, though," Fuji started. "It's only personal because I was curious about it after awhile."

That seemed logical.

Fuji glanced at his watch. "Shouldn't you be leaving?" he asked. When Tezuka gave him a confused look, he smiled. "Didn't Echizen get off work an hour ago?"

Tezuka looked at his watch, and then eyed Fuji when he realized the tensai was right. "Do you know both our schedules?"

Fuji laughed. "That's my secret." he stated, standing up from the table. "Really, though. I'm surprised he can make it through the day like that. He must have one hell of a hangover."

Tezuka chose not to reply to the remark, since he was the one who had to deal with a hung over Ryoma so early in the morning.

The two walked to the door together, said their goodbyes, and then went their separate ways.

---[---

Tezuka stood outside his car for a moment, staring at his watch. He sighed. By now, Ryoma was probably at home. He was going to try and meet the younger right after he got off work, since Tezuka had gotten out of class much earlier than usual.

He opened the door and got in the car, realizing that Fuji had inadvertently ruined his plans for the day. He sighed once more before starting the car and driving off towards home.

Before he left the parking lot, though, he scanned all the stalls and found that Fuji's car was nowhere to be seen.

---[---

Tezuka sighed walking up to the door. He was much later than he usually would be coming home, especially since he got out of class early today. He'd have to try to explain where he'd been nonchalantly to Ryoma.

He opened the front door quickly and closed it behind him with a decently loud clack. "Tadaima." he called out, dropping his book bag to the floor and beginning to take of his shoes.

As he removed his second and last shoe, he lifted his head, a confused look spread across his face. By this time, Ryoma would have answered him. He would be standing in plain sight, smirking at him, saying something to acknowledge he had returned home.

The younger couldn't be mad at him, right? Ryoma wouldn't be so petty as to be mad over him returning late. No he was positive that wasn't it. So what then?

Tezuka stood and walked straight down the hall and towards the living room. He was worried now. What if something had happened?

And he found Ryoma in the living room. The younger was standing by the couch, staring at it with a shocked expression on his face. The younger had a hand over his mouth and the other was over this hand. Tezuka felt his confused look grow even more confused. What was Ryoma so shocked about? Was something wrong with the couch now?

He took a few steps forward, realizing that one, Ryoma had yet to realize he was in the same room, let alone home. And two, that the younger man was shaking violently.

"Ryoma?" he whispered out to gain his attention as he approached the back of the couch.

Ryoma jumped and turned to his left, in Tezuka's direction. He was shaking even more now, much to Tezuka's dismay. Ryoma lowered his hands so they were in front of his chest, and he held his right hand in his left, so tightly that his knuckles were an extremely pale white.

Tezuka kept staring at Ryoma, and their eyes hadn't left each other for the longest time. Finally, Tezuka searched around the room, and when his eyes fell upon the couch, he understood what was wrong.

Immediately, Tezuka leapt around the couch to stand next to Ryoma. Ryoma seemed to have trouble breathing. Tezuka placed a hand on the younger's face, and forced Ryoma to keep eye contact.

Ryoma suddenly wrapped his arms around Tezuka, his hands grasping onto the back of his shirt so tightly, Tezuka thought there would be permanent wrinkles. Ryoma was still shaking and his breathing became more uneven and faster. Tezuka could feel his shirt becoming wet.

"Ryoma." Tezuka whispered into his ear, wrapping his arms around the younger and holding on tightly. "Just let it out." he said. "Just cry."

Suddenly, Ryoma's body started to sink to the floor, dragging Tezuka with him. Ryoma's body began to shake even more violently than before, as the younger sobbed into Tezuka's shirt like there was no tomorrow.

Tezuka could only hold the boy as he cried. He couldn't say anything to console the man, he didn't know if he ever could. All he could do now was hold him.

No words were uttered from either man. They stayed that way for many hours before Ryoma finally fell asleep, remnants of tears apparent on his face. For a great many moments after Tezuka realized Ryoma had fallen asleep, he held the younger there and stared at the couch exactly where Ryoma had been staring.

Sighing, Tezuka stood up, cradling the younger man in his arms as he walked through the house, up the stairs and finally into their bedroom. He gently laid Ryoma on the bed and covered him up, since his only source of warmth while Tezuka was not present in the bed was now gone. The blankets would have to make due for now.

Tezuka sat on the edge of the bed and watched Ryoma until the sun set completely and then began to rise again. The room was an odd color of blue; he had never been awake at this hour before. Deciding that Ryoma would be fine if he left the room, left the younger's presence, he stood and stalked back downstairs into the living room where the whole ordeal began.

Tezuka sat on the couch, next to the spot where he and Ryoma had stared at for so long, and began to think of Karupin.

At the beginning of their relationship, he and Karupin had never gotten along. Of course, the cat was decent to Tezuka while Ryoma was present, or at least aware of both Tezuka and himself. But if the two were ever together, he and the cat, while Ryoma was either absent or sleeping, Tezuka would earn himself a glare and a few scratches from the feline.

Their relationship had gotten much better over the years. But for the past three or four months, Tezuka and Karupin had gotten along like the cat had with its owner. It baffled both Tezuka and Ryoma when they thought about it, but Tezuka was happy to finally be on the cat's good side, as odd as it was for the ex-captain to admit out loud.

But Tezuka guessed he finally understood what was going on with the cat. Karupin was smart, so much more so than other cats Tezuka had ever come into contact with. Karupin hadn't hated Tezuka at all, and that grew apparent as Tezuka thought of the past few months he shared with the cat.

Suddenly, Tezuka felt the strong urge to tell Ryoma what happened to his parents. Ryoma seemed like he was quite contempt to not know, but Tezuka knew that deep down his lover wished to know more than anything. Silently, to himself and Karupin, he resolved to tell Ryoma about his parents, but only when he knew Ryoma would be mentally ready to hear it. But thanks to this turn of events, he knew it wouldn't be for a long time.

Tezuka sighed and smiled as he looked down at the spot where Karupin lay, the same spot that both he and Ryoma had stared at for so long hours ago. Tezuka reached out and petted the cat, feeling dejected, but at ease at the same time. The cat didn't move, didn't meow, or acknowledge that Tezuka was petting it.

Karupin was perfectly still.

"Sayonara, Karupin." Tezuka whispered, smiling sadly. "Arigato."

---[---

---[---

---[---

Ahaha, I wrote this with the intention of it being short, but it got out of hand a little. But I felt bad because I hadn't updated Escapade recently. It takes me awhile to get a chapter done since I want things done in a certain way (plus, between school and my social life, I don't have much time. I should be doing homework instead of writing another fic, haha). I won't post something I don't like. I'm about halfway where I want to be with the next chapter, but I got sidetracked with this story. It's sort of a sequel to cats in the rain, so if you read this story before that one, you won't understand the reference I made towards the end. I actually wanted this to be a little happier (much happier actually), but I'm a sadistic and morbid person, so it turned out that way, haha.

At any rate, I am hard at work on Escapade and one other story (the title won't be announced now, since I don't like the way I previously wrote it. Also, I'm not sure I'm going to finish it. I don't like leaving things unfinished).

And to everyone who read Escapade and or Cats in the Rain and left comments, they are greatly appreciated. I haven't had much of a chance to give thanks, so there it is. I'm a shy person in reality; I don't like giving speeches in class, I don't like having my work read by peers or anyone for that matter, so my posting something like this online for all to read is pretty big to me. I don't like failing (who does?) so kind words are appreciated greatly. Actually, mean words are too, since it only means I need to improve my writing a little, haha. I contradict myself too much.

Alright, I'm going to get back to work on Escapade and try to have another chapter uploaded soon! I did leave a pretty big cliffhanger, haha. At any rate, please be patient and bear with me! I'll update as soon as possible!

Mata to de, minna!

(see you later, everyone!)


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